Starting east...

It may have looked like "Northern Exposure" was filmed in Alaska but it was actually filmed in the little town we had breakfast in this morning. So the trivia for today is, where were we?

Further down the road we stopped for a tour of the Pendleton Woolen Mill in, you guessed it, Pendleton, Oregon, where they make their rugs. Remarkable but true, Judy & I did not buy anything.

Then many more hours of driving through mountainous desert country, some of it blackened by the wildfires. Several times we smelled smoke in the air. Rain showers followed us. A very good thing but it looked like they need much more than just a spotty shower.

Finally, Boise, Garry & Yvonne, and Garry's homemade peach pie. What could be better?!

The pie was just as yummy as it looks! (As always!)

Trivia answer from yesterday... SAM.

How to pass a drizzly Sunday...

While Bridge, John K. & Judy went driving around Seattle looking for a sports bar to watch the tennis finals of the U.S. Open, John G. & I enjoyed time at the Seattle Art Museum. Among their new acquisitions is a video art piece by Bridge's partner, Wynne Greenwood. As you can see in the photo, these kids "totally got it" and were glued to the show.

Meanwhile, B, J & J were still driving around. The Sea Hawks were playing and, in spite of Bridge's most persuasive powers, no self respecting sports bar in the city was willing to switch a TV to tennis. While this cruising and negotiating was going on, John & I continued on with a pleasant stroll through the Pike Place Market and had a nice lunch. Eventually we found our way back to our B&B where we found our threesome plunked on the sofa still waiting for the match to start... some excuse about miscalculating start time & rain in NYC. (Somehow I think we beat the threesome as far as midday activities.) However, there are now a lot of moans and cheers coming from the now foursome so I think happiness has returned to all.

Trivia from yesterday... The boring machine is named Bertha, not after our cat, but after Seattle's first (1926-1928) and only female mayor as well as the first female mayor of a major city.

Trivia for today... What is the Seattle Art Museum known as?

The "deer in the headlights" look...

Another day of fun and adventure in Seattle. A stop at Bridge's law office (pretty snazzy I must say) which is just around the corner from the hotel on which the book "Hotel on the Corner of Bitter & Sweet" is based. No longer a hotel but the coffee is great! On to the most "boring exhibit in Seattle" according to their guidebooks. Seattle is in the midst of moving their viaduct traffic by the harbor underground. Everyone of course is hoping this goes better than Boston's big dig. A little shopping for "essentials" at Pike Place Market. A ride on the monorail (not quite a suspension bridge but John G. survived by sitting in the middle and staring straight ahead). Then a visit to the Chihuly glass exhibition. The photo below doesn't begin to do it justice...

Winding down, Bridge cooked us a fantastic dinner. Yes, he still has Tilłie the VW although, as per her normal, she needs a couple of things done to get her on the road again. We all look pretty dorky in the photo except for the chicken & the VW.

Trivia from yesterday... 24 ferries serving 10 ports.

Trivia for today... What is the name of the boring machine being used to dig the new tunnels?

Mushrooming

Because of the beautiful photos Bridge sends of the mushrooms he finds in the forests west of Seattle,  I wanted to join him on a forage. I did warn him I seem to bring bad luck on these adventures as no one seems to find any when I'm with them. Even so, we all hopped a ferry this morning to go hunting in the rain forest. The trail was absolutely beautiful...

And the trees magnificent, even this 14 ft. in diameter cedar that had fallen many years ago.

The one part of the trail Bridge failed to mention to Uncle John was the suspension bridge.

You'll be happy to know that with a little coaxing and handholding they both made it safely across. As far as mushrooms? That basket of John's stayed empty and my track record of not finding any remains unchanged.

Trivia from yesterday... The Boeing plant in Everett, Washington.

Trivia for today... The Washington State ferries on Puget Sound are considered part of their highway system. How many ferries does it run? 12? 19? 24?

Flying high

Up early to catch a ferry. A bit of traffic but we still made the 9:00 boat. Breakfast on board. Hunger pains makes the car go faster. Back in the states we spent the afternoon touring the Boeing plant. Those are all new planes getting their final checks before going into service. A fun tour.

We hit the road again just in time for rush hour traffic in Seattle. Lucky us! That handsome guy in the photo is Daniel Morris who made us a terrific dinner of waffles and fried chicken! Sure glad we all raised him to appreciate food and like cooking. Yes, we saw Bridge too but he's featured tomorrow.

Trivia... Where is the largest building by volumn in the world?

From yesterday, go to http://youtu.be/9gI2lF7bbww

Goodbye Victoria

Today Queen Elizabeth waved goodbye to her great-great-grandmother's monarchy record. We visited Victoria then, we too, waved goodbye. A beautiful day, we strolled Victoria's streets doing a little window shopping. Miracle of miracles, John even found a pair of work shoes and was fitted in his real size by a "live" salesman. No mean feat (or is that feet?) if you have what I refer to as "cubic feet". Thanks to the water taxi guy in the photo below, John did not leave his new shoes behind on the dock. Aren't these little taxi's cute? Each one is custom made ($135,000), the first one being made in a garage in Quebec 25 years ago. There are a dozen of them running around the harbor.  Terry & Missy.. Don't you think you should have one at camp? Perhaps John should push the sailboat aside and start work on a little water taxi for TI Park.

In the photo below, our troup taking it easy on Fisherman's Wharf. Cute little boat houses behind them that are private residences although, with all the tourists around, I can't imagine even considering living there.

From yesterday, if you'd said flock, herd, trip or all of the above you would have been correct!

Trivia for today... Water taxis, sea planes, kayaks... What does a water ballet every Sunday morning in Victoria Habour?

Goats on the Roof

We set aside today to explore the more unpopulated up-island. The photo is of Port Renfrew. When I was a child many years ago I would sit with my grandfather on his front porch playing cards. He would count cars coming from one direction and I would count them from the other direction. On a busy afternoon we might reach fifteen... together. From the looks of Port Renfrew they are even more laid back. They only need one person to occasionally come out and take count (although they did miss us today).

Then it was cross country on an even smaller road with one way bridges. Definitely logging country but how can anyone harvest trees on slopes you'd need to rope up to walk up?! Because a fellow B&B guest in Moosejaw recommended we go there, we headed to Coombs. In the early 70's Kris, an immigrant from Norway, decided to build a market with a sod roof. A few months later during the Coombs Fair he realized the grass on the roof needed cutting. Inspiration struck after a few glasses of wine. "Borrow" some goats and put them on the roof! It obviously was a million dollar idea. We left a few dollars there ourselves.

The answer from yesterday is flower pots (and drainage tile but that's not nearly as much fun).

Trivia for today... What is a group of goats called? A flock, a herd or a trip?